[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]* Former CEO recently retired after 25 years with the port
* Event graced by Deputy PM of Belgium
The Port of Antwerp hosted its annual reception on February 6, 2017 in Mumbai, which was also an occasion to bid farewell to Mr Eddy Baron Bruyninckx, former CEO of the port, who recently retired after 25 years of distinguished service.
As always, a very significant person was present as Chief Guest. This time it was Mr Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium. Also present were Mr Jan Luykx, Ambassador of Belgium to India, Mr Peter Huyghebaert, Consul General of Belgium in Mumbai, Mr Marc Van Peel, Chairman of Antwerp Port Authority, Mr Luc Arnouts, CCO, Antwerp Port Authority and Mr Raj Khalid, Representative of Antwerp Port in India.
A large gathering of invitees from the maritime, cargo, logistics and ex-im trade graced the occasion, which was evidence of the feeling for Mr Bruyninckx who has been engaging with India for over 15 years. Almost all the significant customers and trade personalities from Mumbai were present, in addition to guests from Dubai, Chennai, New Delhi and Pune.
Mr Ravi Parmar, Chairman of Kandla Port Trust, who had just returned from a course in Antwerp, was also present.
Honours
Three institutions were recognised and honoured by the Deputy Prime Minister on the occasion: CKB, for 100 years of service to the trade; BCHAA, for 80 years of service; and Tulsidas Khimji for 123 years of service.
The presence of the Deputy Prime Minister was an affirmation of the importance that the Port of Antwerp has in Belgium and Flanders as an economic engine and employment generator, it was emphasised.
Mr Eddy Baron Bruyninckx, in his address, stressed on the strong belief of Antwerp Port in the maritime potential of India, its further growth and the continuing good relationship between India and the port. Thanking the trade for their support to him and the port, he said he had developed a lot of close relationships over the years in India and will be coming back. Mr Bruyninckx now runs his own consultancy and strategy mentoring company.
Mr Tushar Jani described Mr Bruyninckx as an artist who crafted the success of the port.
Mr Marc Van Peel touched upon the meeting between the Deputy Prime Minister and Shipping Minister, Mr Nitin Gadkari, earlier in the day, on further enhancing cooperation between India and Belgium and India and Antwerp Port. He said it had been a happy year for the relationship between the port and India and for the port as a whole, it reaching cargo volumes of 200 million tonnes and 10 million TEUs.
The King of Belgium will be coming on a state visit to India at the end of the year, he said, in which the Port of Antwerp would also be involved.
The Deputy Prime Minister talked about the importance of globalisation and the impact of digitisation. Strongly favouring globalisation, at a time when there seems to be many forces ranged against it, he pitched for openness in trade in order to achieve significant growth and lift people out of poverty. On digitisation, he said it will provide new opportunities and, therefore, should appeal to everyone. It will transform the shipping and port business for the better, facilitating free flow of data across the supply chain and improving efficiencies, he added. “Humans and technology are complementary to each other; it’s not humans against machines,” he stressed.
Similar receptions were held later in the week in Ahmedabad and Vadodara.
Looking back with pride
Mr Eddy Baron Bruyninckx said he looked back warmly at his tenure in Antwerp Port, during which the freight volume doubled and its relations with India reached a new level, which saw the port appointing a full time representative based in Mumbai a decade ago.
Containerisation was one of the key changes over these 25 years, especially the coming of large capacity vessels, Mr Bruyninckx said, which prompted the port to augment its infrastructure in order to accommodate them. In fact, he lists the dredging of the Scheldt river, to increase the draught of the port, as one of his important successes, given that it took some effort as authorisation was needed from the Dutch government.
He also stressed on the need for ports to look beyond their immediate vicinity and focus on the wider supply chain with a global perspective, which was the reason the Port of Antwerp created a trade facilitation wing, which assists customers in various matters.
Mr Bruyninckx made the point that ports should focus not only on shipping lines but also on shippers and forwarders to succeed and added that Antwerp Port had done very well in the last few years due to its capability to attract large vessels, good connections to the hinterland and support from the consolidated alliances.
He expressed confidence that India will emerge as a strong maritime nation with world class facilities and excellent exim cargo volumes, one of the reasons being its focus on port-led development, which is also a strategy of Antwerp Port.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
